Return II: Shower and Dinner
War, war never changes.
-ooo000=+=000ooo-
"Hold up, a hoo-man?" Twilight asked, tilting her head in question when she stopped Apple Bloom's telling of their meeting with the creature known as 'Lee' "You mean those things that Lyra Heartstrings is obsessed about? You... it, they're real?!" Twilight exclaimed, the realization that the three ponies in front of her meeting a completely new species exciting her. Then, out of nowhere she produced a quill and parchment. "What do they look like? Do they have any special features? Just who is 'Lee' exactly!?"
To the three's relief, Celestia rose a hoof and stopped Twilight's questions. "I believe those can wait for another time, my student." The princess of the sun then turned to the three, studying their forms once more before adopting a slight smile. "This Lee individual... he helped you? Why is that?" She asked.
"Ah don't know why really." Apple Bloom admitted, scratching her head. More to relieve an itch then anything else. "He coulda left us, but he didn't... we owe him for helping us out when we were almost killed by that crazy human." As she scratched her head, small bits of loose dirt falling off and onto the floor.
Rarity caught site of this, and made a face. "My word! When was the last time you three have bathed?!"
The three looked to each other, exchanging conversation between with other wordlessly before looking back to the others... Silence.
"Like, a half decent bath? We've been gone for... six years?" Scootaloo muttered aloud. "I would have to say... six years since we last had one." She nodded with closed eyes.
*Thud*
"And she fainted, of course." Scootaloo added as both of her friends snickered at the older mare's action, then she smiled. "Good to be back."
"Before we continue this tale, shall we see about fixing you three up?" Celestia offered. "I can tell that ordeal you told us about must have been taxing, as well whatever else you've been through. How about we take a break for now, and see if we can't get you three some much needed relief." Turning to Twilight she asked. "What say we let them shower and eat before we continue."
As if on cue, three stomachs growled in approval, followed by three blushing fillies. "That does sound pretty good right now, I could use a nice hot meal that wasn't irradiated or over two hundred years old." Sweetie added, standing up and stretching as Applejack and Fluttershy gave her a shocked look. "What?"
"Ya mean ta tell me you three have been eatin' food that's over two hundred years old?!" AJ blanched, face growing green at the mere thought of doing such an act.
Fluttershy nodded. "T-that can't be good for you." she half whispered. "The hazards from eating food that old can't be good." She muttered, rubbing her hoof against her foreleg.
"Nope, it is not good." Scootaloo made a face, sticking her tongue out. "Having to eat that crap for six years was horrible, but, eh. It was either that or die."
Sweetie raised her hoof. "Some of that stuff was preserved, remember what Lee told us?" Sweetie asked. "Most of it had special preservatives that keep it from going spoiled. Even the meat they had was that way."
Scootaloo shrugged, turning to Twilight. "This place has something resembling a shower, don't it?" Scootaloo asked, gesturing to the crystal castle they sat in.
"Of course," Twilight nodded, scrunching up her nose as she suddenly became aware of a smell. "You three could use a shower."
"Quite," Celestia nodded with a warm smile as she looked at all three young mares. "You three should take the time to relax and get something to eat before continuing." She stood up, prompting everypony else to do the same.
The three young mares turned to look at each other, the thought of a nice long hot shower sounded heavenly to them. All three smiled and asked. "Where's the shower!?"
With a chuckle, Twilight jerked her head to the stairs. "I'll take you up there." She said, leading the three mares up the stairs as everypony else sat in the main room.
-ooo000=+=000ooo-
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, after being led upstairs to the shower hung back to talk to each other, just out of ear shot of the new princess.
"Um, Apple Bloom." Sweetie asked, lowering her voice as she trotted next to her friend and leader. Said mare turned her head towards the youngest of the three, raising her brow. "About telling them everything we know... do we tell them... well... everything everything?" She wondered. She could remember everything they went through, some of it she didn't exactly think was right or innocent to tell the others. After all, they've seen and done some things... terrible things while exploring the wastes with their human friend, Lee.
Apple Bloom hummed in thought for a moment, tapping a hoof to her chin in thought as they passed by several stoic faced guards. "Ah know that we did some thangs that we aren't proud of Sweets, but Ah don't feel right keeping anythang from mah sister, or th' others for that matter." Bloom told her friend. "We'll talk about this later, for now Ah jus' want ta get a nice shower." Leaning in closer, she whispered. "Haven't you smelled Scootaloo?" She giggled, making the grey filly giggle as well as the orange mare stared at both of them.
"I can hear both of ya, remember?" She said, tapping her ears which she flicked. "And besides, you both smell just as bad as I do." She smirked as Twilight stopped next to a door.
Turning around to face the three, Twilight announced. "Well, here we are girls." Her horn then lit up with a purple hue and the doors opened up, showing a massive room with several large baths, hot tubs and other basins of water. Shelves filled with all kinds soaps and shampoos sat above just within reach, with others just a little bit higher. The smell of fresh clean soaps and water hit was a nice one.
"Oooooo~" the CMC looked all around the inside of the massive room, taking in the wondrous sight of the crystal bathroom and its luxurious showers and baths.
"You girls can freshen up here, I'll have somepony cook something up for you when you're done." Twilight looked to each of them and their starstruck expression, a humorous smile making its way onto her face. "Have anything in mind you want to for dinner?"
"Anythang'd be fine Princess Twilight." Bloom said, unclasping her armor as the other two did the same. In truth, anything would be absolutely perfect, as long as it was fresh and cooked to perfection.
Sweetie nodded, taking off her knife harness. "Same here, eating two hundred year old food on a daily basis will make anything seem better than that."
Scootaloo also nodded, pulling off her weapon and setting it aside against the wall. However, it was different now than it was before, instead of it looking like a cannon, it appeared to be folded up. "Those Fancy Lad snack cakes weren't so bad," Scootaloo defended, unzipping her suit. "A bit old, but they were pretty good."
Twilight had no idea what they were talking about. Fancy Lad? Must be a form of food on that world they were talking about... oh, the possibilities of learning new things! She shook that thought away, these three had been through a lot and she didn't want to pressure them into telling her about that world... just yet. "Well I'll go and get something ready, you three relax and we'll all see you down for dinner." As she turned to leave, she saw Rainbow Dash standing outside, her having followed the four not too long ago. "Dash?"
"Oh, uh... hey Twi." She greeted awkwardly. "I was just hoping to talk to Scoots is all," Rainbow said, looking at the orange pegasus behind Twilight who was taking off her jumpsuit. "You don't mind, right?" When Twilight shook her head, she stood aside and let Rainbow into the shower.
As Twilight left, Rainbow watched Scootaloo as she took off the suit she was wearing. Rainbow could tell how much the young mare had changed. her coat seemed to be a darker color than usual, her eyes darkened, the left one being darker due to the scar present over it. When Scootaloo's jumpsuit fell off, Rainbow's eyes widened when she saw how much she changed body wise. The young pony's body was, for the lack of a better word... messed up. Her coat below her neckline was covered in dark patches, the reason for that was because of scarring making the coloration darker, and another long dark patch across her neck. Scootaloo's body was covered in scars, large and small. And it appeared she had her Cutie Mark! Which looked like a black crosshair. The most different and shocking however, was Scootaloo's wings, they were blackened, the orange feathers gone and replaced with black ones that reflected the light a little.
Scootaloo... what happened to you girl? Gulping down a knot in her throat, Rainbow trotted forward and put on the best smile she could muster. "Hey there, squirt." Rainbow grinned.
Scootaloo turned to face Rainbow and smiled back. "Hiya Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo surprised Rainbow with a quick hug, then pulled away before Dash could do anything. "What are you up to?" She asked, ruffling her wings as she tilted her head. It felt good to be out of the suit, as it had started to itch.
"I hate to be that pony, but what in the buck happened to your wings?!" She half whispered half yelled at Scootaloo, now that she was closer she saw the wings seemed a bit... off to her, like instead of being downy they were... some sort of black shiny material.
Looking behind her and extending a wing, Scootaloo's face turned dark for a second. "Oh, uh... I'll tell you when we go back to the story." Looking back to Rainbow Dash she added. "Its best if everyone... I mean everypony, heard what happened." She turned around without another word, joining her two friends and leaving behind a confused and slightly skeezed Dash.
Scootaloo... A sigh and Rainbow turned around, trotting out of the showers and back down the hall to her friends.
-ooo000=+=000ooo-
"What did Dash want?" Apple Bloom asked, shrugging off her armor and weapons. The heavy barding she wore hit the floor with a thud, her weapons as well. After getting it all off she took off the black undersuit, unzipping it and folding it once she got it off.
"She was just wondering bout my wings." Scootaloo answered, flexing said appendages before flapping them. Taking flight for a couple of seconds before landing. "I'll have to tell her bout that too..." Scootaloo sighed, not particularly feeling good about speaking to Rainbow Dash about her wings. "Who knew telling a story had to suck so much."
Sweetie nodded, her armor and equipment off and laying off to the side with everypony else's gear. "I know how you feel Scoots, but it'll have to come out sooner or later. Same with our marks," she said, showing her flank which had a mark of crossed knives over a medical cross. "We got ours in... things Ponies don't normally get their marks in."
Bloom sighed, looking at her own flank which bore a mark of a screwdriver and a hammer crossed over a computer screen. "That is true... very true... Ah wonder if anypony in this world got their mark in decapitation?" She mused, getting a dark chuckle from both friends.
"Maybe back in the dark ages, during Nightmare Moon's rebellion, or Discord's rule." Scootaloo said, smiling grimly as the thought. What even would a mark like that look like?
Without any further ado, all three made their way over to one of the showers off to the far side. The inside of the shower they walked into was large, big enough to accommodate several ponies at once. Apple Bloom had to mess around with it at first, as she had no clue how to turn it on. She was used to working different types of shower knobs, but eventually she got it working and soon a stream of hot relaxing water hit the three mares, and they all let out a collective sigh.
"Oh sweet Celestia." Scootaloo groaned as the water cascaded across her back. Her wings extending out and letting the water hit them, the warmth of a long awaited and well deserved shower made her feel six years younger. She opened her maw, catching some of the water before gurgling it and spitting it out. "Ahh, I need to brush my teeth." She spat, shaking her body slightly as the other two mimicked her actions, both looking just as revealed as Scootaloo.
Sweetie had the biggest smile on her face as she regarded her two friends. "This has been a long time coming." She said, her horn lighting up and grabbing a few bottles of shampoo on one of the shelves. "Any requests?" She said, taunting her two friends with the bottles and fluttering her eyelashes.
"Don't tempt me Sweets, or I'll knock you down and tie you up." Scootaloo warned with a smirk, swiping at one of the bottles with her wing and grabbing as Sweetie giggled.
"So violent~" The grey filly cooed slyly, flicking her tail in the orange pony's direction, sending droplets of water onto her muzzle. "You need to relax more, we're home now." She said, opening the bottle and squirting out a bit of the sweet smelling goop onto her hoof before rubbing it into her mane. Sighing at being able to finally get the dirt caked deep into her scalp. "Ooooh that feels good."
And so the three showered, taking advantage of the scrubbing brushes and scrubbing away the six years worth of dirt, grime, muck, and blood. Finally being able to have a nice long hot shower made the CMC feel fantastic, more than they've felt in years. Loose fur and strands of their manes and tails came loose hitting the floor of the shower and being washed down the drain. Eventually an hour passed, and the three were as clean as a whistle, coats sparkly clean and free of any dirt, blood and other sticky nasty things, and they felt ten pounds lighter.
Scootaloo trotted out of the shower, using a towel to dry her mane with. "Damn that felt great." She said, sighing as she dried her mane and tail, taking a seat on a bench as Sweetie and Bloom did the same as she did.
"Ah agree with ya there Scoots," Bloom nodded, tossing her towel away and shaking her mane with a sigh. She truly felt better then she's ever had before. "Feels great ta finally have all th' muck offa mah coat."
Sweetie hung up her towel and looked over at her ad her friend's equipment, pondering something. "Hey... now that we're back... what happens to our stuff?" She cast a look at her knives, feeling a sense of dread about having to give them up. She's had them for a long time, and giving them up... didn't sit right with her.
"Ah ain't sure Sweetie Belle," Getting up, Apple Bloom trotted over to her armor and weapons, nudging them with a hoof before looking back at herself. She felt naked, both metaphorically and literally, and she mirrored Sweetie's thoughts as did Scootaloo. Giving up their weapons, something they carried with them for years that had saved their lives more times then they could count... wasn't something they wanted to do. Equestria or not. "Ah guess we could put em away when we go home, in case of a rainy day ya know?"
"I suppose." With a sigh, Sweetie picked up her equipment and made to put it back on when she caught the smell of dried blood and sweat, cringing she put the suit back down. "Maybe we should get our clothes cleaned too, they smell horrible."
Taking a whiff of her own armor, Apple Bloom made a face. "Whew! Maybe we should, mah armor smells like Deathclaw blood."
"... maybe that's because you killed one?" Scootaloo suggested in a tone of voice that told Bloom that's exactly the reason why.
The apple pony shrugged and put her armor back down. "We can settle th' gear business later, Ah reckon there's some food down below that's callin' our names." With a smirk she bolted out of the shower room, smacking open the shower door and hitting a poor stallion on the other side and sending him sprawling to the ground. The CMC were too busy laughing and running to notice him give them the stink eye.
He watched the three with a quivering bottom lip. "Why am I always getting hit by doors?"
"I dunno, maybe you're a door magnet. Might explain why you're not getting any mares." His partner, a batpony mare giggled with a toothy smile.
"I hate you all..."
-ooo000=+=000ooo-
"So, think they're done yet?" Applejack asked, getting antsy at having to wait for her sister. She knew there was nothing to be scared of in Twilight's castle, but she didn't want to rick losing her sister again.
"I'm sure they're fine AJ." Twilight reassured her friend. "You did see how dirty they were right? They're probably taking their time cleaning up, after all. Six years with no hot water, they're probably taking advantage of the hot water." She giggled, holding a hoof to her mouth.
This got everypony at the table laughing kindheartedly, then they heard more laughing coming from the stairs. Looking up they saw the CMC gallop down the stairs, sans clothing, armor and weapons. They looked like normal ponies now... well... almost.
Luna's eyes widened a fraction when she saw all three of them in the light. The three had been wearing full body armor and clothing, so she couldn't get a good look see at their coats or anything else, but now that it was gone, she could see everything. Scootaloo was different from the skinny flightless pegasus Luna knew of years before. Her wings were fully grown, if not bigger then normal and appeared to be black as night. At first, Luna thought she had something called Black Wing, a coloration defect that appears in a foal pegasi's wings at a later age that turns them completely black. But a closer look at the base of her wings showed two faint scars that went all the way around. Scootaloo also appeared to have a decent muscle mass, akin to that of Rainbow Dash, sleek and strong.
Apple Bloom's body was similar to Applejack's, her legs looked strong, and she had a slightly bigger muscle mass, but not enough to make her look like a stallion or anything, she looked toned and well built. Several scars, mostly large ones adorned her sides and chest which were round and others that resembled slash marks. And when Apple Bloom smiled, Luna noted her teeth were different looking, however she couldn't tell how different from her current seating.
And finally Sweetie Belle, while not as muscular as the other two, she certainly filled out her body in a different way. Her body, much to Rarity's slight jealousy, had given her slight curves and a nice build that would make many young models envious of how beautiful she looked. Her coat shone bright and her eyes glimmered in the light, her mane was silky curled at the bottom much like her tail. And surprisingly, she didn't have many scars, save for a couple of small ones around her fetlocks.
"So... what's for dinner?" Scootaloo asked, wings extended happily as she eyed the table they sat at.
Twilight clapped her hooves twice, then the table was soon swamped by servers and covered in an extensive amount of tasty and scrumptious looking food. Cakes, pies, muffins, salads, and other delicious food awaited them all. "Well everypony, let's dig in."
"Awwww yeeeeeeeaah!" Scootaloo cried alongside Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The three wasted no time in gathering the best looking food and piling it on top of plates, they grabbed whatever was in reach.
"I take it ya'll are hungry?" Applejack asked with an amused grin as she watched Apple Bloom shove two cupcakes into her mouth, chewing it like a hungry wolf.
"Hell yeah we are!" Apple Bloom giggled, grabbing a cup of water and downing it in three huge gulps. She slammed the cup down and breathed out a happy sigh. "Wheeew, that's good water."
Scootaloo nodded. "I used to hate water, even more so when we were on Earth." She lifted up her glass, Sweetie lifting hers up and Apple Bloom refilling hers before lifting it up as well. "Now... I never thought I'd love seeing it as much as I do now."
"Here here!" The three cried, clanking their glasses together before downing them.
Twilight, meanwhile was writing down notes in her small book, which was hidden beneath the table. "How bad was the water on that world anyway, on Earth?"
"It was bad." Sweetie said, frowning as she remembered drinking the hazardous liquid. "Really bad. Like... grow a new limb if you're not careful bad."
Twilight perked her ears up at that. "Was the water always in that shape?"
This time, Apple Bloom answered that. "Naw," She waved a hoof, the other picking at a cupcake and putting pieces of it in her mouth. "Ya see, like Ah said before, Earth was involved in a World War, where every country went to war with each other over a precious resource called Oil."
Rarity tiled her head. "Do you mean something like, Lamp Oil?"
The apple mare shook her head. "Naw, this was different oil." She plucked a cherry off of one of the other foods she had and popped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Its buried deep beneath the earth, and ya have ta drill to get to it sometimes. Its used to power earth's war machines, Ah mean, from what Lee told us, it was used to power their entire world once."
"Trains, boats, ships, those cars, tanks, houses, entire cities." Scootaloo added. "All of it was powered by oil in some form or another, maybe not directly but oil played a big part in the humans infrastructure and their daily lives. Without it, lotta things wouldn't work right, or at all."
"You said it powered it once..." Celestia asked, deciding to ask her own question. "What exactly happened to Earth?"
Apple Bloom shrugged. "Everyone killed each other over it."
"Least a billion of so were burned alive or blasted into a bunch of tiny sticky pieces when they didn't get to the vaults underground." Sweetie added, looking down at her plate with a bored expression."Others were just killed before getting underground, or mutated into horrible disgusting monsters that'd kill you soon as they look at you." chewing on her food with a dismissive look on her face. Looking up at Scootaloo she asked. "Can you pass me a cupcake?"
As Scootaloo used her wing to pass one, everypony at the table had stared at Sweetie. Mostly because of the casual way she said that. Everypony, with the exception of the two princesses had gone white at that information. Celestia and Luna just looked... disturbed that Sweetie Belle, the youngest of the three could easily dismiss something as horrible as that.
"B-billions?" Applejack asked. "Billions of ponies got themselves killed, over oil?" The entire idea seemed idiotic, ludicrous even!
Fluttershy, ever the soft hearted and caring individual had tears in her eyes. "H-how could t-they do such a horrible thing?"
"Cause they could." Apple Bloom admitted. "Th' word ran on oil, an' they were running out... everything spiraled outta control and, eventually they started nuking one another. Killing off a good portion of the plane'ts population, both human and animal." She absentmindedly rolled around a pea she found, "Th' people still there are trying to rebuild what they can, but like Lee said."
All three stopped what they were doing, and said. "War never changes."
Twilight felt a shiver run through her body. Why does that sound so ominous?
Luna was next with her question. "How much of the population remains?"
Sweetie looked up, tongue sticking out in the cutest way possible before saying. "There were... close to... I think nine billion humans... and we were in the USA... so... I think... somewhere around a million or so? No one knows how many people are left, its not easy to get across the ocean without a Vertibird or a ship that works worth a damn."
Rarity cleared her throat at the language. "Must you be so, vulger Sweetie Belle?" She asked sweetly.
"... Yep."
Rarity sighed, hanging her head. Just fantastic.
Sweetie leaned over to Apple Bloom, "Should we continue telling the story over dinner?"
Her answer was cut off as Twilight asked. "Could you continue? I would love to hear more about this world and its people."
"Okay... hmm... well, we were following Lee..."
And so the story continues over dinner, the mane six and the princesses now know a little of how terrifying Lee's world is. However, this is only the beginning of the horrors the CMC encountered...
Stay turned next time, for the next chapter of: Return, on Vault-Tec Channel 6
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Yes.
All of my yes.
Shut up and take my yes.
TAKE MY YES DAMNIT, I'M LITERALLY THROWING THEM ALL AT THE SCREEN FOR YOU!!!!
Awesome chapter, I felt much the same as the Crusaders about a hot shower after my first summer at scout camp, there was only one set of showers, limited hot water, and dirt paths everywhere. My mom took one look at me and said, "Go into the garage, strip, toss your clothes in the sink, then come inside and take a shower. THE WATER WAS SOLID BROWN AND IT TOOK TWO SHOWERS BEFORE I FELT CLEAN!!!
6240267 i am taking all of your yes!
ITS TASTES SO GOOOOD! *omnom*
6240913 Oh gawd XD hahaha.
Wow... bet that was nasty
hehehe, a good shower can make anybody feel goood
6242314 Mom took the clothes and simply soaked them in the garage sink... brown water resulted and she kept draining the sink and soaking the clothes until the water stayed clear. Only then did she put them in the washer.
6243529 Good lord where were you at? XD
Walking through toxic waste?
Can't wait for the next chapter!
6243560 There are no paved roads at Camp Oljato, just dirt paths. You walk everywhere, so you sweat, the sweat gets soaked into your clothes and then soaks up the dirt. Add in a lack of laundry facilities and it gets dirty. Then there's campfire smoke, food stains, minor scratches and bruises....
6244189 Me either man! :D
6244610 Oh wow, that sounds pretty bad XD
heheh, but walking is good for ya! :D hehe
6253646 ok
You just lost browny points.
Ummm... Could you kindly tell what type of pony Apple Boom is? I think i forgot. (Don't actually answer that please...)
6254164 Awww fuck XD I feel stupid as fuck right now.
Shit!
...
I meant to do that... to throw you all off...
Yeah... totally.
6254254 buahahahaa, nice try at a save. Btw sorry about sounding snarky, at the time i was facepalming really hard.
6254447 Its alright, that was a pretty stupid thing I wrote XD
I must have been high or something. XD
6254636 i can understand. I tend to forget facts that I wrote, yet alone the show and cannon stuff
6254654 It sucks when ya forget important stuff.
6254806 at least you didn't forget half a prologue in the middle of writing it.
6254815 lol, I would die if that happened to me XD
... or did it already?
6254835 had to replace what i had with a tad of pan comedy, which i was actually happy about in the end, i have since remembered but the comedy relieved the tension i didn't want. Prologue originally made it sound like a pure rape fic (it's not) and the comedy fixed that.
6254866
Ehhh, those rape fics... I think are done out of hate D'x
I saw one for Derpy, and my heart broke into a million pieces. ;v;
6255174 ehehehehe, then i need to send you to it when it's done, hate to spoil shit but it turns into a romance by the end.
6256820 6256820 //sobs//
Would love ta read it
//hides//
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6462805 You shall haz update... soon... soon...
6243560 It can get pretty dirty there, but I remember the worst was the wasps that came in and out of the latrines. taking a dump should never be so stressful.
6463170 Good lort, seriously? xD hahah, ouch.
I gotta say you got a good story going here man! This makes me want to dust off my old copy of fallout 3 and play until I can't see straight! I really look forward to see what happens next!
6516900 Hehehe, why thanks!
You should play it man, that game is fun as ball!
Thanks for reading!
6519704 you know there is a mod that for the pc version that links both fallout 3 and new vegas as a single game?.
on another note please dont make any of the crusaders lesbians, at least make them bisexual
6579125 Hmm, that's interesting. If I ever get a decent PC, I may try that out :P
As for that... eh, we'll see *waggles eyebrows*
Eeeeh, I really can't see the CMC having up to a 4-year age difference between them. Sure, your story and everything, but even then it's something that my headcanon resolutely says no to.
I'm going to take a stab and guess Scootaloo's wings mutated.
6608031 I was thinking automail myself
I'm pretty sure it was disgusting at first but the meat wasn't so bad after a few months.
Again, only complaint is the oil thing, otherwise it's a great read!
6608031
It mentioned scars at the base of her wings. I think her wings were replaced.